OTHER  SHEEP  I HAVE.' 


A SERMON 


PREACHED  IN  THE  SHEPARD  MEMORIAE  CHURCH, 
CAMBRIDGE,  OCTOBER  15,  1882. 


By  ALEXANDER  Me 


ER^McKE 


NZIE. 


CAMBRIDGE.  Mass.: 
1882. 


/ 


OTHER  SHEER  I HAVE 


A SERMON 


PREACHED  IN  THE  SHEPARD  MEMORIAL 
CAMBRIDGE,  OCTOBER  15,  1882. 


By  ALEXANDER  McKENZIE. 


CHURCH, 


CAMBRIDGE.  Mass.: 
1S8’. 


PRINTED  BY  REQUEST. 


Reported  by  It.  IV.  Gleason. 


OLl. 


SERMON 


Text:  — “ And  other  sheep  I have,  uhieh  are  not  of  this  fold: 
them  also  I must  briny , and  they  shall  hear  my  voice;  and  there 
shall  be  one  fold , and  one  shepherd .” — St.  John  10  ; 16. 

This  was  the  broad,  far-reaching  view  of  the  Christ  of  God. 
lie  had  gathered  a few  men  about  him  ; he  had  made  the  land  to 
feel  the  blessing  of  his  presence  in  comfort,  in  healing,  and  in  life. 
There  were  men  seeing  who  had  been  blind ; there  were  men 
running  who  had  been  lame  ; there  were  men  living  who  had  been 
dead,  until  he  found  them  and  saved  them.  But  he  was  not  con- 
tent that  his  life  should  be  bounded  within  these  narrow  limits. 
As  he  was  passing  out  of  the  world,  already  I13-  anticipation  enter- 
ing the  glory,  his  eyes  wandered  out  over  the  earth.  He  saw 
others  as  needy  as  these  ; he  saw  others  as  dear  as  these,  whom  he 
could  reach  and  whom  he  could  bless.  The  land  of  Palestine, 
where  our  Lord’s  earthly  life  up  to  this  time  had  been  spent,  in  size 
and  in  shape  is  like  our  state  of  Vermont ; and  Vermont  is  not 
the  whole  country,  still  less  the  whole  world.  He  could  not  be 
content  that  this  little  state  should  be  blessed  while  all  the  rest 
of  the  laud  and  the  world  was  living  in  the  same  necessity,  need- 
ing the  same  Savior.  We  find  to  the  end,  as  Christ’s  life  passes 
on  from  this  point — for  now  it  is  drawing  towards  its  consumma- 
tion— this  same  reaching  out  of  his  thoughts  to  those  who  are 
beyond.  Thus,  when  he  prayed  with  his  disciples  the  night  before 
his  crucifixion,  the  same  night  in  which  he  was  betrayed,  opening 
his  heart  before  the  Father,  he  was  not  content  that  he  had  blessed 
eleven  men  who  were  with  him  in  that  hour  and  whom  he  carried 
in  his  petition  to  the  Father ; but,  reaching  beyond  the  walls  of 
that  chamber  and  past  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  he  cried,  “Neither 
pray  I for  these  alone,  but  for  them  also  which  shall  believe  on 
me  through  their  word.”  Then  again,  when  his  resurrection  was 
accomplished,  and  he  met  his  disciples  in  the  mountain  in  Galilee, 


4 


lie  gave  them  their  commission  that  they  should  go  and  teach  all 
nations.  He  taught  them  at  another  time  that  repentance  and 
remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  “among  all  nations,  begin- 
ning at  Jerusalem.”  Finally,  when  he  stood  upon  the  Mount  of 
Ascension,  and  for  the  last  time  his  feet  were  treading  the  earth, 
looking  beyond  all  the  glory  that  was  before  him,  he  cried,  “Ye 
shall  be  witnesses  unto  me  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea, 
and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the -earth.”  They 
caught  the  words  so  eagerly  that  they  seemed  scarcely  willing  to 
wait  until  he  had  ascended.  We  mark  how  he  holds  them,  de- 
tains them,  lest  they  should  go  too  soon  into  their  work.  “Tarry 
ye  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  until  ye  be  endowed  with  power  from 
on  high.” 

We  see,  then,  this  thought  of  the  Christ  for  the  “other  sheep,” 
and  we  find  in  this  the  whole  idea  and  principle  and  spirit  of  that 
which  in  our  day,  alas,  we  still  call  the  missionary  work.  The 
whole  genius  of  this  endeavor  and  enterprise  lies  in  that  single 
sentence  : “Other  sheep  I have,  and  them  also  I must  bring.”  If 
we  keep  to  this  figure,  we  mark  how  the  Lord  has  gathered  to- 
gether some  sheep  out  of  the  peril  in  which  they  were,  and  that  there 
are  others  whom  he  will  succor.  We  mark  that  there  are  other 
sheep  wandering  in  waste  places,  where  there  is  no  herbage  and 
where  the  brooks  are  dry  ; and  that  they  must  be  made  to  lie  down 
in  green  pastures  and  be  led  by  still  waters.  We  mark  other  sheep 
wandering  aimlessly  and  hopelessly  over  the  earth  ; and  they  must 
have  the  Shepherd  who  shall  lead  them  safely  and  happily  into  the 
rest,  the  eternal  keeping,  the  eternal  fold  of  God  the  Father  and 
Savior  of  them  all.  So  simple  it  is  : so  many  sheep  saved  from 
the  wolves,  so  many  others  still  in  danger ; so  many  sheep  safely 
folded,  others  not  folded  ; so  many  wisely  led,  others  not  led. — 
we  have  here  the  whole  spirit  of  this  enterprise. 

Or,  if  we  should  drop  this  imagery  for  the  moment,  we  find  it  in 
this  wise  : Christ  seeks,  as  he  has  brought  certain  men  into  the 
knowledge  of  God,  to  bring  other  men  to  know  God ; as  he  has 
brought  some  men  out  of  the  guiltiness  and  wrong  of  their  lives,  so 
he  will  bring  others  to  righteousness  and  holy  lives  ; as  he  has  re- 
vealed the  grace  and  wisdom  of  God  to  some,  he  will  reveal  them 
to  others ; as  he  has  placed  some  men  in  paths  of  usefulness 
and  happiness  and  life,  so  he  will  place  other  men ; until,  out  of 
all  the  earth,  he  shall  gather  his  own  together,  and  there  shall  be 


one  flock  and  one  shepherd.  Ho  looks,  therefore,  for  the  world,  to 
this  deliverance  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  this  advancement  of  all 
their  interests  which  shall  carry  them  beyond  deliverance. 

We  may  come  to  this,  then  : to  see  that  there  are  certain  bles- 
sings lying  within  this  greater  thought  of  Christ’s  greater  purpose 
which  justify  this  endeavor  whose  full  accomplishment  they  so 
beautifully  illustrate.  For,  casting  our  eyes  even  hastily  over  the 
world  to-day,  we  find  sore  need  of  comfort  and  peace  and  all  those 
blessings  which  tend  to  make  life  useful  and  happy  for  us.  Christ 
would  say*,  “I  would  give  to  all  the  world  the  blessings  of  my 
grace,  until  they  know  God,  and  dwell  obediently  in  his  love  ; until 
they  have  peace  one  with  another ; until  superstition,  witchcraft, 
slavery  and  all  iniquity  have  passed  away  ; until  women  have  their 
place  in  the  home  and  the  life  of  children  is  secure  ; until  they  have 
good  schools  and  all  the  blessings  of  a good  civilization  ; until 
they  have  upright  governments  with  good  rulers  aud  good  people  ; 
until  life  is  a blessing  and  is  safe,  while  it  is  the  earnest  and  the 
hope  of  a higher  and  better  life  that  is  to  come.”  Even  out  of  our 
own  world,  and  our  own  methods  of  living,  which  are  so  far  from  a 
complete  civilization  ; even  out  of  these  broken,  disordered  meth- 
ods. so  full  of  reproach ; we  can  see  the  need  that  others  should  be 
brought,  even  as  far  as  we  have  come,  into  the  blessings  of  our 
peace,  of  our  orderly  communities,  of  our  Christian  homes  and 
Christian  schools. 

Perhaps  we  might  catch  the  spirit  of  the  Christ  as  well  by  keep- 
ing within  the  words  which  here  he  presents,  in  the  passage  now 
before  us,  and  of  which  he,  like  his  Father,  was  so  very  fond.  It 
was  a pastoral  country ; he  was  descended  from  the  Shepherd  of 
Israel ; he  was  accustomed  to  this  keeping  of  sheep  and  to  all  that 
concerns  a pastoral  life.  It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  he  should 
take  up  this  method  of  speaking,  in  which  he  should  be  the  Shep- 
herd and  men  should  be  the  sheep. 

What  do  we  wish  to  do.  what  does  Christ  wash  to  do,  for  these 
“ other  sheep”?  Why,  merely  what  he  has  doue  for  those  who 
are  gathered  already  within  his  fold.  Mark  these  two  or  three 
points  : 

First,  he  wishes  to  teach  the  other  sheep,  all  belonging  to  him 
the  world  over,  to  read  and  enjoy  the  23rd  Psalm.  He  wants  the 
men  and  women  in  the  heart  of  Africa  to  be  able  to  say  this,  as 
they  cannot  say  it  to-day  : ‘‘The  Lord  is  my  shepherd,  I shall 


6 


not  want.”  He  wants  to  teach  them  the  exceeding  comfort  of 
that  truth,  in  view  of  all  that  is  before  them.  He  wants  to  teach 
them  on  the  plains  of  Asia  to  say  as  the}-  die,  ‘“Yea,  though  I 
walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I will  fear  no  evil ; 
for  thou  art  with  me  ; thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort  me.” 
Again,  he  wants  to  teach  them  in  Africa  and  Asia,  and  in  the 
islands  of  the  sea,  to  read  the  tenth  chapter  of  St.  John,  and  to 
hear  the  Lord,  say  : “I  am  the  good  shepherd  ; the  good  shep- 

herd giveth  his  life  for  the  sheep.”  Again,  he  wants  to  teach  them 
the  world  over  those  words  which  St.  Peter  has.  written,  looking 
forward  to  the  life  that  is  before  them,  the  great  event  which  is 
to  usher  in  the  Day  of  God  that  is  to  be  : “ When  the  chief  shep- 

herd shall  appear,  ye  shall  receive  a crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not 
away.”  Finally,  he  wants  to  teach  the  “other  sheep”  of  all 
nationalities,  scattered  throughout  the  world,  those  words  which 
St.  John  heard  on  that  Lord’s-day  morning,  when  Patinos  grew 
bright  with  the  light  of  heaven  and  a voice  came  from  out  the 
excellent  glory,  revealing  the  things  which  are  forevermore  before 
the  throne  of  God,  where  men  stand  from  Africa,  from  Asia,  from 
America,  from  the  islands,  out  of  wretchedness,  out  of  guiltiness, 
clothed  with  white  robes  and  palms  in  their  hands,  singing  one 
song  to  which  the  angels  listen  : “ Unto  him  that  loved  us,  and 

washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood.”  For  these  are  they 
that  have  “washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb.  Therefore  are  they  before  the  throne  of  God”  ; 
and  they  shall  “ follow  the  Lamb  whithersoever  lie  goeth.” 

Here  lie  the  motive  and  the  incentive  to  this  work  which  Christ 
gives  to  us.  You  and  I need  nothing  more  than  this  : to  mark  that 
Christ  stands  looking  the  world  through,  and  to  remember  that  he 
has  died  for  the  whole  world  ; to  mark  that  his  longing  desire,  as 
he  goes  out  from  the  world,  is  to  have  all  men  everywhere  know 
what  he  has  done  for  them  ; and  to  hear  him  sa}-,  as  he  commits 
his  work  to  men  : “I  must  ascend  to  the  Father  ; I leave  this  in 

your  hands.  There  are  other  sheep  as  dear  to  me  as  you,  and 
they  are  scattered  through  all  the  world.”  “Other  sheep  I have.” 
Who  needs  more  argument?  Who  asks  for  greater  persuasion? 
Who  seeks  a higher  reward?  Every  Christian  heart  leaps,  all 
piety  starts,  all  the  blood  of  our  faith  and  our  devotion  runs 
quicker  in  our  veins,  stirred  not  by  commandment,  lured  not  by 
promises,  moved  not  by  threatenings,  won  by  the  great  heart,  the 


broad,  high  vision,  the  compassionate  grace,  of  the  Christ: — “0 
ye  who  lo\e  me,  I have  other  sheep  ; them  also  I must  bring,  that 
there  may  be  one  fold  and  one  shepherd.”  We  seem  to  hear  these 
words  of  Christ  extending  through  all  our  faith  and  through  all 
the  revelation  of  his  grace,  summoning  us  to  the  opportunity  and 
to  the  duty  of  our  life.  It  seems  to  me,  that  when  I read  the 
Psalm  of  David,  it  is  as  when  we  sing  the  Psalm  in  the  Sanctuary, 
and  the  human  voice  lifts  up  its  syllables  with  all  their  sweetness 
and  their  power,  while  the  organ  with  its  grand,  rich  notes,  bur- 
dened with  melody,  accompanies  the  voice,  that  organ  and  voice 
may  bear  the  psalmody  up  and  raise  our  thoughts  with  the  words. 
I wish  I could  sing  it  and  make  the  organ  sound  as  I sing.  I think 
that  it  is  like  this : the  divine  accompaniment  behind  the  Psalm, 
under  it,  above  it,  through  it,  inspiring  it  and  uplifting  it  by  its 
breath;  as  one  might  sing  : “ The  Lord  is  m3'  shepherd;  I shall 

not  want,”  — ‘‘Other  sheep  I have  which  are  not  of  this  fold”; 
“ lie  maketh  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures,  he  leadeth  me  be- 
side still  waters,”  — “Them  also  I must  bring,  and  they  shall  hear 
my  voice”  ; “Yea,  though  I walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death.  I will  fear  no  evil,”  — “And  there  shall  be  one  fold  and 
one  shepherd.”  Christ’s  compassion  at  the  cross  gives  to  the  psalm 
of  the  old  shepherd  the  rich  melody  of  its  fulfilment,  when  Christ 
enlarges  the  thought  of  him  whose  son  he  does  not  disdain  to  be. 
There  is  a seventh  verse  to  the  23rd  Psalm,  and  Christ,  the  Sou 
of  God,  wrote  it.  We  do  not  read  the  Psalm  through  to  its 
end  if,  when  David  has  laid  down  his  pen,  we  do  not  find  in 
another  handwriting  underneath  : “Other  sheep  I have  which  are 

not  of  this  fold.”  “Think  not  that  you  are  the  only  man  whose 
shepherd  I am,”  he  would  say,  “think  not  in  your  conceit  that  I 
stretch  out  my  rod  for  you  only ; think  not  that  in  the  pastures 
where  I feed  my  flock  there  is  only  grass  enough  for  you,  and  that 
in  the  brooks  which  follow  where  I touch  the  rock  there  is  only 
water  enough  for  you  and  for  j our  friends.”  “Other  sheep  I have 
which  are  not  of  this  fold.” 

Brethren,  I think  that  this  matter  might  well  be  left  sirnplj-  here. 
I doubt  very  much  if  we  add  anything  to  its  force  bjr  adding  to  its 
words.  If  you  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  it  is  impossible  that  you 
should  not  feel  the  constraint  of  that  sentence:  “Other  sheep  I 

have.”  I heard  that  a person  said  once,  “I  do  not  believe  in 
foreign  missions.”  It  was  a thoughtless  word  ; it  was  saying  this, 


8 


although  this  was  not  meant:  “I  do  not  believe  in  the  other 

sheep.  I think  Christ  died  for  me  and  for  my  countrymen,  and 
I do  not  believe  he  died  for  anj'body  else.”  You  have  only  to 
state  it  to  see  how  absurd  it  is,  and  how  far,  as  the  east  is  from 
the  west,  it  is  removed  from  every  line  and  from  all  the  spirit  of 
Holy  Scripture. 

But  it  will  be  asked,  I know,  as  it  is  asked  so  often,  suppose 
that  we  do  not  go  to  these  other  sheep,  what,  then,  becomes  of 
them?-- a question  drawn  so  largely  and  so  unhappily  into  the 
religious  discussion  of  these  days  of  the  church.  We  are  having  a 
renewed  interest  in  the  consideration  of  the  missionary  enterprise  ; 
but  the  renewed  interest  keeps  repeating  the  inquiry  : What  will 

became  of  the  “other  sheep”  if  we  do  nothing  for  them?  Surely 
it  is  a very  painful  question.  It  marks  a decline  of  spiritual  life 
in  anybodj’  who  asks  it.  It  shows  a falling  off  of  piety  when  we 
come  down  to  consider  anything  like  that.  What  will  become  of 
the  heathen  if  we  do  not  go  to  them  with  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of 
God?  Why,  what  matters  it  what  would  be  doue,  for  we  are  going 
to  them  with  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.  Suppose  you  should 
be  told  that  last  week,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Boor 
in  this  city  of  Cambridge,  they  spent  an  hour  discussing  what  they 
should  do  with  your  family  in  case,  during  the  coming  winter,  you 
refused  to  provide  bread  for  them.  You  would  feel  justly  offended. 
You  would  say,  “These  men  have  no  right  to  arraign  me  and 
presume  upon  my  inhumanity  ; they  have  no  right  to  consider  what 
provision  they  shall  make  in  case  I do  not  provide  bread  for  my 
household.  I always  have  done  it,  I am  doing  it,  I always  shall 
do  it.”  Friends,  it  is  a dishonor  to  the  church  of  God  that  men  sit 
gravely  down  to  consider  what  God  will  do  for  the  heathen  pro- 
vided we  do  not  share  our  bread  with  them  ; what  God  will  do  for 
our  brothers  and  sisters  through  the  world,  provided  we,  whose 
kinsmen  they  are,  refuse  to  give  to  them  the  bread  which  is  in  our 
hands  that  we  may  share  it  with  them.  I will  have  none  of  it. 
It  is  a wrong  to  the  church,  it  is  a wrong  to  our  common  humanity 
and  our  common  Christianity  to  enter  into  any  such  discussion. 
What  will  become  of  the  heathen  if  we  do  not  go  to  them?  Why, 
we  are  going  to  them.  It  is  beyond  all  question.  What  will  be- 
come of  them  if  we  do  not  give  them  the  gospel  ? Why,  we  are 
giving  them  the  gospel,  and  shall  give  it  to  them  jet  more  and 
more  until  all  the  world  has  heard  the  Word. 


9 


Hut  still  tin*  question  is  pressed:  “Tell  me,  as  a matter  of 

curious  interest,  what  will  be  done  with  them  and  what  will  become 
of  them  if  we  do  not  give  to  them  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God?” 
I set  it  with  other  questions.  You  say,  “ It  is  possible  that  we 
may  not  go ; it  is  at  least  conceivable  that  the  missionary  work 
should  die  out.”  Yres,  it  is  conceivable.  What  shall  be  done? 
What  will  you  do  if  all  the  men  who  own  ships,  the  world  over, 
refuse  to  carry  out  a missionary?  Build  other  ships.  What  will 
you  do  if  all  the  ship-builders  in  the  world  refuse  to  build  ships  to 
carry  missionaries?  What  will  you  do  if  all  sailors  and  ship 
captains  refuse  to  man  ships  to  carry  missionaries?  What  will 
you  do  if  all  the  makers  of  charts  and  compasses  and  sails  and 
anchors  refuse  to  furnish  these  things  to  ships  that  carry  mis- 
sionaries? What  will  you  do  if  Euroclydon,  arising  on  this  Octo- 
ber Sabbath,  sweeps  over  the  ocean  until  the  waves  rise  mountain 
high  and  the  tempest  blows  until  the  I)ay  of  God?  What  will 
you  do  if  these  things  come  to  pass?  As  well  look  for  all  the 
ship-buiklers  of  the  world  to  refuse  our  money,  as  to  suppose  that 
the  churches  of  the  world  will  refuse  to  go  in  ships  and  carry  the 
good  news  of  God  over  the  seas.  As  well  think  that  men  will  let 
their  ships  perish  at  the  wharves  when  they  could  send  them  on 
profitable  voyages,  as  that  Christianity  will  rot  into  selfishness  and 
men  in  their  insufferable  conceit  will  think  that  God  cares  for  them 
only,  and  that  the  Son  of  God  died  upon  the  cross  for  them  only 
and  meu  of  their  complexion.  Call  religion  selfishness  ; call  the 
Redeemer  an  American  ; call  Christ  a man  who  cares  for  you  and 
your  children  alone  ; you  must  do  all  this  before  the  church  loses 
the  divine  inspiration  and  the  power  of  those  simple  thoughts  and 
desires  out  of  the  heart  of  the  Christ : “I  have  redeemed  you  ; 

I have  blessed  you  ; I fold  you  to-day  under  my  protection.  There 
are  other  sheep  which  are  not  of  this  fold ; them  also  I must 
bring,  you  must  bring  ; and  the}'  shall  hear  my  voice,  your  voice  ; 
and  there  shall  be  one  flock  and  one  shepherd.”  Under  the  con- 
straint of  this  longing  we  shall  go  out.  It  is  beyond  discussion  ; 
we  are  going  to-day. 

I know  we  are  told  that  we  need  another  inspiration  and  incen- 
tive. It  is  not  enough  that  Christ  wants  the  others,  not  enough  that 
Christ  sends  us  to  them  with  the  blessings  of  his  word  ; unless  we  can 
feel  their  hopelessness,  destroyed  by  themselves  and  soon  to  be  for- 
ever deserted  of  God,  we  shall  not  stir  hand  or  foot.  What  right 


IO 


has  any  man  to  say  that?  What  need  have  we  to  hear  it?  It  is  a 
lower  consideration  ; it  is  down  beneath  our  common  motives  and 
practices  as  Christian  men.  If  we  will  not  go  to  the  heathen  be- 
cause Christ  wants  us  to  go,  I do  not  believe  it  is  of  much  use  for 
us  to  go  at  all.  If  we  cannot  preach  to  them  the  love  of  Christ,  we 
have  very  little  to  preach.  If  the  love  of  Christ  does  not  lead  us  to 
go,  then  we  should  not  have  much  of  the  love  of  Christ  to  preach  if 
we  should  go.  If  we  are  not  moved  by  those,  things  which  moved 
him  who  redeemed  us  with  his  blood,  then  we  shall  not  be  moved. 
I love  to  read  that  divinest  missionary  sentence  of  them  all,  the 
strength  and  heart  of  the  Gospel,  that  God  gave  his  son  to  the 
world  because  he  loved  the  world  ; and  to  believe  that  it  is  the 
spirit  of  modern  missions  to  seek  men  because  we  love  men  and 
because  Christ  loves  men. 

“.Still,  is  not  this  a lost  world”?  I thought  it  was  a found  world 
— so  have  1 read  the  Gospel.  The  great  fact  of  the  Gospel  is  that 
Christ  has  sought  the  world  and  found  it.  Christ  has  redeemed  it ; 
Christ  has  saved  it.  The  great  thing  to  feel  is  not  that  it  is  cast 
down,  but  that  Christ  has  come  to  lift  it  up;  not  that  it  is  gone 
from  God  but  that  God  has  come  to  it;  not  that  it  is  wandering 
into  perdition,  but  that  Christ  has  reclaimed  it  for  Paradise.  But, 
would  it  not  be  an  incentive  to  go  to  him,  to  feel  that  a man  dying 
this  day  without  the  knowledge  of  Christ  sinks  instantly,  like  a 
stone  in  the  sea,  into  the  depths  of  eternal  perdition?  Would 
not  that  stir  us  and  make  our  hearts  quick  to  go  abroad  with  the 
gospel?  I do  not  deny  that  there  may  be  an  incentive  of  that 
kind ; but  I do  insist  upon  it,  if  I know  anything  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ,  if  I know  anything  of  the  motives  which  move  Chris- 
tian effort  in  this  land  and  in  other  lands,  that  this  is  not  the 
spirit  which  is  sending  men  to  save  men  ; but  that  they  are  going 
for  the  love  of  the  Christ,  and  for  the  love  of  those  whom  Christ 
would  save. 

“But,  is  it  not  true  that  they  are  sinking  into  this  hopeless 
perdition  unless  we  go  to  rescue  them.”  I am  not  concerned  now 
to  talk  about  that.  But  what  shall  be  done  with  the  heathen? 
It  is  a very  important  question ; it  is  a question  of  great  personal 
interest;  and  yet  it  needs  definition  like  anything  else.  Whom 
do  you  mean  by  the  “heathen”?  The  heathen  in  the  first  instance 
were  simply  the  people  who  dwelt  on  the  heath;  country  people. 
That  was  the  early  distinction.  A pagan  was  a villager,  and  urban- 


ity  was  simply  the  method  of  city  life.  In  the  beginning  civiliza- 
tion, and  therefore  naturally  Christianity,  centered  in  the  cities, 
and  from  them  spread  gradually  into  the  country.  Now,  what  is 
to  be  done  with  the  country  people?  Jerusalem  has  the  gospel : 
what  of  the  people  without?  Boston  has  the  gospel:  what  of 
the  heathen  of  Cambridge,  Somerville,  Charlestown,  and  all  this 
country  district  about  us?  That  was  the  original  question.  Well, 
we  cannot  draw  any  lines  of  that  sort  and  say  that  a person  living 
within  a great  municipality  is  to  hear  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of 
God ; but  that,  if  a person  lives  in  the  country  it  is  not  necessary, 
or  will  be  to  no  effect. 

Let  us  narrow  the  question.  The  heathen  are  those  living 
without  the  knowledge  of  God;  that  is  our  general  definition, — 
those  who  do  not  know  the  true  God  ; do  not  know  his  name  ; do 
not  do  his  will.  Now,  who  are  the  heathen  on  this  plan?  Why, 
they  vary  every  day.  You  must  often  ask  the  question  and 
answer  it.  There  is  not  a day  in  the  calendar  when  the  heathen 
are  the  same  as  on  other  days.  Who  were  they  when  Christ  was 
here?  Think  of  it  for  a moment.  Who  were  the  heathen  when 
Christ  said,  “There  are  other  sheep  which  are  not  of  this  fold?” 
Think  of  it  geographically  for  an  instant.  Why,  the  heathen  in- 
cluded everybody  in  this  world  except  the  Jews.  Go  out  to  the 
east  of  Palestine,  or  to  the  west,  to  Greece,  Rome,  Gaul,  and  the 
plains  of  India,  and  the  regions  beyond, — the  people  were  heathen 
to  a man,  except  as  they  were  Jews,  or  proselytes  of  the  Jews. 
What  shall  be  done  with  the  heathen?  Ask  St.  Peter.  It  is  a good 
question  for  that  day.  St.  Peter  says,  “Let  them  go  ; nobody  can 
be  saved  but  a Jew.  The  Jew  is  God’s  peculiar  man.”  It  needed 
a vision  out  of  the  heavens  to  persuade  him  that  it  was  worth  while 
to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  heathen, — meaning  the  Greek,  the 
Roman,  the  Englishman,  anybody  except  a Jew.  Well,  the  gos- 
pel went  out  for  them,  went  out  beyond  Jerusalem  and  Judea,  and 
reached  out  beyond  among  other  people,  spreading  gradually  over 
the  earth,  winning  men  everywhere  it  went  unto  the  grace  and 
goodness  of  our  God. 

What  of  to-day  then  ? It  has  come  to  pass,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
and  it  is  an  absolute  fact  to-day,  that  there  are  millions  of  Christians 
in  the  world  who  never  were  Jews  at  all.  I do  not  think  you  could 
have  made  St.  Peter  believe  that  it  would  ever  be  so,  until  he  had 
that  vision.  You  remember  the  disciples  called  him  to  account  for 


acting  on  this  principle.  Even  the}’  had  to  be  persuaded  by  his 
vision  out  of  heaven.  How  do  we  stand,  then,  to-day  as  related 
to  the  heathen  ? We  stand  in  this  great  mass  of  humanity  of  which 
Palestine  is  the  centre,  and  the  gospel  is  reaching  a little  way  into 
it.  What  of  the  rest?  Why,  let  it  keep  on.  That  is  the  whole  of 
it.  Let  it  go  on  still  further.  Why  do  you  draw  the  line  ? Are  they 
more  heathen  on  that  side  of  the  meridian  than  on  this?  They  are 
all  heathen  together;  only  some,  we.  have  received. the  truth,  and 
others  around  us  have  not  received  it  yet.  They  are  precisely  what 
we  were,  with  the  same  necessity,  and  the  same  gracious  offer  is 
made  to  them.  The  only  difference  is  that  they  are  by  a single  step 
more  removed  from  Christ.  It  is  all  there.  Let  us  understand  the 
language  we  are  using,  nor  confuse  ourselves  over  terms  without 
an  accurate  conception  of  their  meaning.  Let  us  repeat  what  has 
been  done.  Let  this  word  which  has  come  to  us  spread  from  us  to 
those  who  are  near  us,  and  to  those  who  are  remote,  until  at  last 
they  all  come  unto  this  grace  of  God.  For  we  wrong  ourselves 
when  we  saj-  that  we  need  to  be  saved  and  the  heathen  do  not. 
We  wrong  them  when  we  say  that  we  are  able  to  be  saved  and  they 
are  not.  We  do  not  differ  from  them  at  any  essential  point. 
The  only  difference  is  on  outside  matters  which  are  not  at  all 
essential  to  this  matter  of  their  redemption  before  God.  They 
have  the  same  human  hearts,  the  same  duty,  the  same  everlasting 
years  before  them  ; and  for  them  all  the  Son  of  God  has  died.  We 
have  won  out  of  all  nations  and  kindreds  some  already  unto  the 
kingdom  of  God  : it  needs  but  the  extension  of  this  which  has  al- 
ready been  done  and  they  shall  all  come,  the  “other  sheep”  shall 
be  brought,  and  our  Lord’s  thought  of  the  “one  flock  and  the  one 
shepherd”  shall  be  fulfilled. 

It  has  been  suggested,  in  another  connection,  that  ignorance 
is  bliss.  It  may  be ; but  I never  yet  heard  that  ignorance  is 
righteousness.  I never  have  been  told  that  ignorance  is  glory, 
and  honor,  and  immortality.  1 have  never  yet  read  in  Holy 
Scripture  that  men  stand  before  the  throne  of  God  with  white 
robes  and  palms  in  their  hands  as  a reward  of  their  ignorance,  and 
that  the  best  preparation  for  God’s  kingdom  above  is  paganism, 
that  all  a man  needs  is  to  die  in  darkness  to  enter  upon  the  glory 
of  the  eternal  light.  Ignorance  may  be  bliss,  but  ignorance  is 
not  godliness.  A state  of  ignorance  may  have  its  advantages  but 
it  is  not  the  kingdom  of  God. 


r3 


I know  the  question  will  be  pressed,  and  that  I shall  he  told 
I have  evaded,  and  have  not  answered  it,  — what  will  become  of 
the  heathen  if  we  do  not  give  to  them  the  gospel  of  the  Christ? 
I would  evade  nothing.  Let  me  ask  you  to  notice  briefly  these 
two  or  three  points  touching  those  who  have  not  heard  the  gospel 
of  the  grace  of  God.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  they  do  not 
differ  from  you  and  me  except  that  we  have  heard  already 
and  they  are  yet  to  hear.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  your  ances- 
tors and  mine,  unless  the}-  were  Jews,  are  numbered  with  the 
heathen  of  yesterday,  those  whom  St.  Peter  thought  were  not  to 
b > reached,  those  for  whom  St.  Paul  was  especially  commissioned 
that  he  might  speak  to  them  the  word  of  mercy.  Now  as  touch- 
ing them  notice  these  things:  First,  that  the  state  in  which  they 
live  is  not  a state  of  misfortune  merely : it  is  a state  of  guilt. 
There  is  nothing  more  important  than  that.  One  of  our  primal 
errors  is  in  pitying  them  when  we  ought  to  feel  that  they  are 
guilty  before  God,  and  are  to  be  dealt  with  as  guilty  men.  Sec- 
ondly, let  it  be  remembered  that  right  and  wrong  have  no  respect 
whatever  to  the  color  of  a man’s  skin  or  to  the  raiment  which  he 
wears,  and  that  as  long  as  God  is  God,  whoever  stands  and  who- 
ever falls,  it  shall  be  well  with  those  who  do  right  and  it  shall  be 
ill  with  those  who  do  wrong ; that  doing  right  keeps  men  and 
brings  men  into  the  favor  of  God  ; and  doing  wrong  tends  away 
from  God,  unto  his  condemnation.  Let  it  be  noted  again  that 
God’s  will  is  revealed  to  these  as  to  others  ; not  as  completely  to 
these  as  to  others,  but  completely  enough  for  their  duty,  complete- 
ly enough  to  give  an  opportunity  for  guiltiness.  They  have  the 
light  of  nature,  of  which  we  are  boasting  more  and  more  in  our 
day ; they  have  conscience  and  the  moral  sense ; they  have  rea- 
son : they  have  the  experience  of  life.  If  they  do  right,  they  do 
right  under  the  force  of  these  faculties ; if  they  do  wrong,  they 
do  wrong  in  spite  of  these  faculties  and  they  yield  to  the  induce- 
ments to  evil.  Let  it  be  noted  again,  that  God  will  deal  with 
them  in  perfect  justice,  as  he  deals  with  other  men,  according  to 
their  opportunity.  We  need  not  run  the  line  of  separation  be- 
tween Christian  and  pagan  nations.  I rnn  it  through  your  houses, 
among  the  families  of  this  people.  The  child  of  the  Christian 
father  and  mother  has  more  responsibility  upon  him  to-day,  and 
in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  that  unfortunate  child  for  whom  no 
father  prays.  God  deals  with  meu  always  according  to  their 


H 


opportunities  and  the  light  they  have  or  can  have  if  they  will. 
And  again,  God  requires  them,  whether  the}'  be  in  that  land  or 
in  this,  to  live  up  to  the  light  they  have.  If  it  be  much,  they 
must  live  up  to  the  great  light ; if  it  be  little,  they  will  be  judged 
as  those  who  have  the  little  light.  But  they  will  be  judged  dis- 
criminatingly and  thoroughly,  according  to  the  opportunities 
which  they  have  had.  Jesus  declared  this  strongly,  that  they 
who  knowr  the  will  of  God,  as  you  do.  and  do  it  not,, shall  be  beaten 
with  many  stripes  ; and  that  they  w ho  do  not  do  the  will  of  God 
because  they  do  not  know'  it,  or  do  not  know  it  perfectly,  shall 
have  the  few  stripes  ; not  that  they  shall  be  exempt  from  stripes, 
for  there  is  no  man  w'lio  docs  not  know'  something  of  the  will  of 
God,  else  he  is  not  a man  at  all.  They  shall  be  dealt  with  accord- 
ing to  their  light. 

But  there  comes  to  us  this  fact, — and  here  is  the  difficult  point  of 
the  whole  consideration  — that  Christ  has  come  into  the  world 
declaring  God’s  will  and  revealing  God’s  grace.  Therefore,  under 
these  Christian  conditions  our  character  and  our  destiny  are  made 
up.  What  shall  be  done  for  those  wdio  never  hear  of  Christ?  I 
answer  in  this  wise:  that  the  grace  of  God  is  for  all  men,  that 
Christ  died  for  all  men,  and  that  if  a man  lives  up  to  the  light  he 
has  without  hearing  of  Christ,  it  is  quite  possible  for  God  to  apply 
to  him  the  merits  of  Christ’s  redemption  ; as  it  w'as  with  the  Jew 
before  Christ  came,  who  did  what  he  could,  by  his  faith  in  the 
sacrifice,  without  clearly  understanding  the  meaning  of  the  sacri- 
fice. God  understood  the  meaning,  and  he  gave  to  the  obedient 
Jew  the  advantages  of  that  sacrifice,  because  he  did  what  he 
could,  and  God  applied  the  whole.  It  may  be  so  with  a man  on 
this  side  of  the  crucifixion  of  Christ  who  never  hears  of  him,  but 
who  yet  comes  to  him,  or  towards  him,  as  w'ell  as  he  can,  and  offers 
his  life  in  obedience  and  sacrifice,  and  praise  and  love.  The  power 
of  Christ’s  redemption  may  be  applied  to  him  as  to  the  Jew  with- 
out his  ever  hearing  of  the  Christ.  Alas  that  they  are  so  rare  of 
whom  such  things  can  be  said  ! The  search  of  the  years  brings 
up  few  men  who  stand  by  the  side  of  the  Grecian  sage  who  is 
habitually  mentioned  in  this  connection  as  a man  who  did  what  he 
could,  and  found  the  grace  of  God  which  is  in  Christ. 

Now  I am  quite  content  to  leave  men  there,  if  I must  consider 
this  question  at  all ; that  God  will  deal  with  them  justly  and  may  give 
to  them,  if  they  be  obedient,  the  grace  of  the  Christ  of  whom  they 


15 


have  never  heard.  There  is  a suggestion  which  has  been  talked 
about  within  the  last  six  or  eight  months,  that  after  men  are  dead 
Christ  may  go  to  them  in  their  prison-house  and  preach  to  them 
personally  the  gospel  of  which  the}'  have  never  heard.  To  my 
mind  this  is  not  a very  probable  solution  of  the  question.  I do 
not  object  to  it  as  a generous  thought  upon  a painful  theme.  It 
has  been  repeatedly  declared,  with  my  most  hearty  concurrence, 
that  there  is  nothing  in  it  to  disqualify  a man  for  the  Christian 
ministry  in  a Puritan  Church ; that  is  all  which  has  been  proved 
by  these  recent  public,  and  most  interesting  and  thoughtful  discus- 
sions. It  does  not  seem  tome  that  this  is  the  most  rational  way  of 
meeting  this  difficulty ; if  we  feel  called  upon  to  meet  it  at  all,  as  I 
do  not.  I think  it  is  not  clearly  taught  in  Scripture  ; indeed,  that 
is  not  claimed.  Upon  a kindly,  well  meant  theory  one  does  not 
speak  in  a dogmatic  way.  But  I do  not  feel  that  this  is  so  prob- 
able a way  of  meeting  the  necessity  of  these  men  as  that  which  I 
have  already  described.  But  it  will  be  said.  I know,  — and  here 
comes  the  special  point  of  difficulty,  — that  if  they  have  the  pres- 
ence of  Christ  and  the  personal  preaching  of  Christ,  which  we 
have,  and  under  which  we  make  up  our  character,  then  they  may 
be  won  unto  the  grace  of  God.  We  must  believe  that  the  presence 
and  voice  of  Christ  would  bring  to  them  an  immense  increase  of 
light.  Yet  it  is  noticeable  that  the  preaching  of  Christ  and  the 
presence  of  Christ  have  not  succeeded  in  winning  men  into  the 
fold  of  God.  That  which  has  brought  men  to  be  the  children  of 
God  is  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  IIolv  Ghost,  finding  men.  convincing 
them  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  of  judgment,  and  bringing  them 
unto  the  blessings  of  the  grace  of  God.  The  Spirit  of  God  can 
find  men  now  in  darkness,  and  can  apply  to  them  the  grace  of  God, 
in  their  obedience  and  penitence,  even  though  they  may  never  hear 
the  name  of  Christ. 

I am  quite  willing  to  leave  it  there.  And  yet  why  say  these 
things?  Why  indulge  in  speculations  concerning  what  we  should 
do  if  the  sun  should  never  rise  again,  if  the  air  should  suddenly 
vanish  away,  if  seed  should  never  yield  bread,  and  the  water- 
brooks  should  be  dried  up.  and  hope  should  fail  from  out  the 
hearts  of  men?  When  it  comes  we  will  see  what  we  shall  do. 
It  has  not  come  yet.  What  shall  we  say  of  the  heathen  who  never 
hear  the  Gospel?  When  you  and  I have  done  our  duty  and  there 
are  heathen  who  have  not  heard  the  gospel,  I will  join  you  in  con- 


i6 


sideling  the  question  which  then,  for  the  first  time,  has  become 
practical.  Do  you  not  mark  that  the  heathen  are  provided  for? 
They  need  simply  that  which  has  come  to  us.  The  only  thing 
wanting  is  the  personal  factor,  the  man.  who.  taking  the  mercy  of 
God,  shall  teach  it  to  others  just  as  it  came  to  him.  Between 
Christ  and  you  there  stands  a man  or  woman — your  father, 
mother,  teacher,  minister,  friend.  Somebody  came  from  Christ  to 
you  and  brought  you  to  Christ,  and  that  is  your  personal  experi- 
ence. It  is  meant  to  be  so  the  world  over ; nor  are  we  to  think 
that  men  will  be  brought  to  love  Christ  unless  men  go  out  to  teach 
his  name  and  to  illustrate  the  power  and  the  beauty  of  his  life  and 
bring  men  up  into  his  redemption. 

This,  then,  is  the  broad  commission  of  our  great  love  for  Him : 
“Other  sheep  I have,  which  are  not  of  this  fold.”  And  this  has 
occurred  to  me,  brethren  : that  if  we  fail  of  onr  duty,  and  these 
men  go  into  eternity  with  our  duty  undone,  the  mercy  of  God 
shown  to  them  may  be  taken  from  us,  and  by  as  much  as  they  have 
happiness  beyond  their  desert  may  the  happiness  be  taken  from 
us.  It  may  be  that  something  will  be  taken  from  us  that  they  may 
be  found  clothed,  and  that  we  shall  be  set  in  inferior  places  that 
they  may  rise  into  the  higher  places  which  would  have  been  theirs 
if  we  had  done  our  duty  to  them. 

You  will  not.  you  will  not  I am  sure,  think  that  1 forget,  or 
lightly  regard,  the  solemn  words  which  describe  the  estate  of  those 
who  go  to  the  judgment  with  their  sins  upon  them.  I would  not 
conceal  from  you,  or  from  myself,  the  fearful  estate  of  men  who 
live  without  God  and  die  without  a Savior.  I venture  nothing 
upon  the  hope  which  tender  pity  may  suggest.  1 take  nothing  from 
the  eternal  punishment  of  guilt.  I see  no  bridge  across  the  gulf 
which  is  fixed.  Profoundly  solemn  and  awful  are  the  teachings  of 
onr  Lord  regarding  the  ungodly.  Right  and  wrong  are  infinitely 
far  apart  in  their  character  and  their  consequences. 

I do  not  question  that  this  is  the  belief  of  the  missionaries  of 
Christ ; and  that  it  enters  into  their  desire  and  their  sacrifice  for 
men.  But  I do  not  believe  that  in  these  sad  truths  is  found  the 
motive  which  has  sent  our  youug  men  and  young  women  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth  as  the  ambassadors  of  Christ,  and  has  kept  them 
in  strange  lands,  and  laid  them  in  strange  graves;  so  that,  but 
for  these  gloomy  truths,  they  would  not  have  gone,  although  Christ 
bade  them  : that  the  love  of  men  who  were  in  present  distress  would 


i7 

lisive  appealed  in  vain  ; and  the  urging  and  command  of  Clnist 
would  have  fallen  on  hearts  which  would  not  have  been  moved,  and 
on  ears  which  would  not  have  listened.  I am  dealing  with  facts, — 
they  have  gone  and  they  stay  ; others  will  go  and  stay,  for  the 
love  they  bear  to  men  and  the  greater,  unquestioning,  sufficient 
love  they  bear  for  Christ.  Nothing  which  men  may  suggest  in  the 
way  of  hope  will  take  from  the  force  of  Christ’s  pommand  ; Christ’s 
commission  : “ Other  sheep  1 have  which  are  not  of  this  fold  ; 

them  also  I must  bring.” 

Brethren,  remember  or  forget  as  you  will  that  which  I have 
now  said,  but  remember  this  which  Christ  has  said.  1 do  Dot 
believe  that  we  need  a higher  and  holier  incentive  than  that,  it 
has  been  said  in  public  places,  that  unless  certain  things  are  be- 
lieved in  regard  to  the  immediate  and  eudless  hopelessness  of  those 
who  die  without  hearing  of  Christ,  the  arm  of  the  missionary  will 
be  unnerved ; and  that  by  a variation  from  certain  theological 
views  we  may  cut  the  nerves  of  our  missionary  effort.  That  is,  1 
suppose,  we  shall  cease  to  give  money  or  prayer,  and  the  men  and 
women  who  have  gone  out  will  come  back  and  no  others  will  take 
their  places.  I wonder  that  men  who  have  given  treasure  and 
labor  to  this  Christian  enterprise  have  heard  such  things  in  silence, 
perhaps  with  approbation.  I wonder  that  of  those  who  have  lis- 
tened to  such  suggestions, — some  of  them  missionaries,  some  the 
fathers  and  mothers  of  missionaries,  who  knew  the  hearts  of  the  sons 
and  daughters  they  had  anointed  with  holy  tears,  — there  was  not 
found  some  one  to  rise  and  say,  “In  the  name  of  truth,  in  the  name 
of  my  child,  and  of  my  Savior,  I protest  against  this  charge.”  It 
is  late,  but  I lift  my  voice  in  ‘defence  of  the  absent,  the  living  and 
the  dead.  I will  not  have  this  dishonor  thrown  upon  the  life  oT 
Judson,  and  Scudder,  and  Tyler,  and  Brown,  and  all  the  glorious 
company  of  our  elect.  It  shall  not  be  said  that  the  love  of  Christ 
was  not  enough,  the  love  of  humanity  was  not  enough,  the  com- 
mand of  Christ  was  not  enough  ; that  they  never  would  have  gone 
to  teach  the  grace  of  God  to  others,  unless  they  had  held  certain 
special  beliefs  concerning  those  to  whom  they  were  sent ; that 
they  must  hear  the  crackling  of  the  flames,  or  they  may  turn 
to  their  merchandise  and  their  beds.  I do  not  believe  it ; 1 
wont  believe  it.  In  the  name  of  every  Christian  missionary  the 
world  over,  I den}'  it.  I ask  to  be  heard  until  the  missionaries 
have  had  time  to  speak  for  themselves.  The  love  of  Christ  was 


i8 


enough  to  send  them  ; the  desire  of  Christ  was  enough  to  inspire 
them.  They  would  have  gone,  they  would  have  stayed,  they  would 
have  wrought,  the}-  would  have  died,  so  long  as  the  Christ  said. 
“Other  sheep  I have,  and  them  also  I must  bring.”  I have  heard 
of  but  one  missionary’s  arm  that  was  unnerved.  It  was  cruelly 
unnerved.  When  he  was  dead,  in  England,  they  stripped  off  the 
cerements  from  hpn  that  they  might  find  whether  it  was  the  man 
or  not.  They  saw  the  broken  bone  still  bearing  the  marks  of  the 
Lord  Jesus.  But  his  arm  had  been  unnerved  by  the  bite  of  a lion, 
and  not  by  the  shiver  of  a ghost.  No,  men,  no ! This  is  a 
Christian  sanctuarjT ; we  are  moved  by  the  love  of  Christ.  Down 
through  the  light  of  this  Sabbath  day  comes  that  word  which  is 
warning,  and  motive,  and  spirit,  and  longing,  and  compassion, 
enough  for  us  all : “ There  are  other  sheep  which  are  not  of  this 

fold ; them  also  must  I bring,  and  they  shall  hear  1113'  voice.” 

I read  the  missionary  hymns  where  thought  rises  into  its  imag- 
inative and  passionate  expression.  I have  turned  the  pages  of  our 
“ Sabbath  Hymn-book”  which  are  headed  “Conversion  of  the 
World”  and  “Missionaries,”  that  I might  find  whether  this  was  true, 
that  only  the  belief  in  certain  fearful  things  would  induce  men  to 
carry  the  gospel  to  their  fellow-men.  I have  not  found  one  hymn 
to  justify  the  thought  that  men  would  not  be  missionaries,  or  efficient 
missionaries,  unless  to  the  command  of  Christ  is  added  a vision  of 
the  hopeless  doom  of  the  heathen,  a doom  instantaneous  and 
eternal  at  their  dying.  From  the  old  lyric  which  will  be  sung  as 
long  as  there  are  “other  sheep,”  all  the  way  through,  it  is  one 
strain : the  love  of  Christ,  the  coming  and  the  glory  of  Christ. 
His  gospel  is  to  be  preached  and  sling,  “From  Greenland’s  icy 
mountains”  to  “India’s  coral  strand,”  until  the  consummation 
when  the  prayerful  song  is  fulfilled  in  the  earth,  and  the  “ Re- 
deemer, King,  Creator,  in  bliss  returns  to  reign.”  The  same  glad 
and  stirring  hope  rings  in  the  grand  anthem  of  Isaac  Watts,  most 
majestic  of  all  missionary  hymns  : 

“Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun 
Doth  his  successive  journeys  run.” 

The  missionary  believes  that  the  world  needs  to  know  that  Christ 
has  sought  it  and  saved  it.  But  his  master  thought  is,  I will 
count  nothing  dear  unto  me,  if  I may  hasten  the  coming  and 
kingdom  of  the  Lord.  And  this  shall  be  his  inspiration  : “Other 


19 


sheep  I have.”  Men  will  go  and  prcaeh  the  gospel  until  Christ 
has  ceased  to  say,  “There  are  other  sheep.” 

Brethren,  this  is  the  word  of  the  Lord  this  morning.  I wish 
I might  illustrate  it  out  of  the  lives  of  these  men  who  dignify 
our  humanity  in  this  day  that  we  are  living  in.  I have  alluded  to 
one  man..  I think  there  is  not  in  all  the  century  a grander  name 
than  his.  It  was  this  spirit  of  devotion  to  the  Christ  which  moved 
him  through  all  Ids  heroic  career;  — that  Scottish  boy,  that 
weaver’s  child,  born  into  a Christian  home  and  trained  to  the  love 
of  Christ  until  it  became  the  longing  of  his  heart  that  he  might 
do  good  to  men.  Restrained,  held  back,  3-ct  pressing  forward  by 
the  force  of  his  own  consecrated  endeavor,  at  last  he  found  him- 
self in  Africa,  glad  to  be  there,  startled  with  the  thought  that  he 
might  have  missed  it  all.  ••What  an  unspeakable  mercy  it  is  to 
be  permitted  to  engage  in  this  most  holy  and  honorable  work ! ” 
••What  commission  is  equal  to  that  which  the  missionary  holds 
from  Him?”  lie  pressed  forward  with  his  great  purpose,  through 
all  sacrifice,  through  all  pain,  in  faith  and  joy,  never  questioning, 
never  flinching,  dying  and  behold  he  lived,  counting  it  enough  for 
him  to  be  a missionary  of  the  Cross;  refusing  to  have  men  pity 
him,  and  giving  them  no  warrant  for  ascribing  low  motives  to  a 
high  enterprise.  “Can  the  love  of  Christ  not  cany  the  mis- 
sionary where  the  slave  trade  carries  the  trader”  he  asked.  1 >y 
the  banks  of  the  rivers,  along  the  lakes,  upon  the  mountains, 
through  the  swamps,  he  walked,  repeating  those  words  of  the 
Scotch  ploughman,  humming  them  to  himself  out  of  bis  Scotch 
heart, — that  vision  of  Robert  Burns  of  the  day,  when 

“Man  to  man  the  world  o’er 
Shall  brothers  be  for  a’  that,”  — 

keeping  before  him  that  loftier  vision  of  the  Christ,  cheering  his 
enfeebled  eves  with  that  time  when  the  earth  shall  be  filled  with 
the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  and  calling  to  mind  that  word  of 
promise.  “Lo,  I am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world,”  — “It  is  the  word  of  a gentleman,”  he  said,  “of  the  most 
sacred  and  strictest  honor  ; and  there  is  an  end  ou’t.”  “Fear  God 
and  work  hard”  was  his  parting  word  in  Scotland.  This  was  the 
spirit  which  bore  him  forward  to  the  end.  He  said  that  he  should 
like  to  die  there  where  his  work  was,  and  be  buried  there  where 
his  child  lay,  in  “the  first  grave  in  all  that  countiy,  marked  as  the 
resting  place  of  one  of  whom  it  is  believed  and  confessed  that  she 


20 


shall  live  again.”  There  his  wife  la}'  on  Shupanga  brae.  There, 
in  the  forest  solitude,  he  wished  to  lie  among  this  people,  who 
loved  him  for  his  love,  and  wait  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  But 
men  said  it  must  not  be  so.  They  carried  him  away ; they  buried 
his  heart  in  Africa ; they  carried  his  unnerved^  arm,  and  all  the 
rest  that  was  left  of  him,  back  to  England ; they  opened  the 
Abbey  doors  and  laid  him  down  with  king  and  statesman,  chief  and 
sage.  Men  gathered  to  do  him  honor.  They  put  the  stone  down 
upon  Lis  grave,  and  wrote  upon  it  that  epitaph  which  is  the  grand- 
est of  all  which  Westminster  Abbey  boasts  to-day.  I think  West- 
minster Abbey  has  not  another  line  among  them  all  so  good  as 
that.  They  wrote  this,  cutting  it  into  the  black  stone : “Other 

sheep  I have  which  are  not  of  this  fold ; them  also  I must  bring, 
and  they  shall  hear  my  voice.”  Oh,  friends,  there  is  not  another 
sentence  in  all  the  Bible  I would  like  so  well  to  have  written  on 
my  gravestone.  The  letters  are  red  with  the  very  blood  of  the 
Christ,  the  very  thought  of  the  Savior’s  heart ; and  to  have  men 
say  when  you  are  dead  that  this  was  the  thought  of  your  life,  that 
you  lived  and  gave  yourself  because  there  were  other  sheep  — 
not  yourself,  other  sheep,  Christ’s  sheep,  who  are  now  hearing  his 
voice  because  they  have  heard  your  voice  — it  is  all  a man  could 
ask. 

But  there  is  a better  place  to  write  it  than  a monument.  Can 
we  not  write  it  on  our  lives?  Christian  men,  will  you  write  it  on 
your  banks,  on  your  stores,  on  your  gold,  for  Christ’s  sake,  for  the 
love  of  men  : “ There  are  other  sheep  besides  myself,  and  this  is 
to  save  them.”  Write  it  upon  your  lives,  young  men.  Harvard 
College  might  give  to  this  work  every  student  it  has,  and  not  a 
single  calling  among  men  miss  one  of  them.  Write  it,  young 
men,  on  your  lives,  upon  your  plans,  upon  your  choice  of  a pro- 
fession, the  thought  of  the  Christ ; hear  it  as  you  go  out  in  your 
morning ; let  the  words  find  you  as  they  come  sweet  and  clear, 
and  tremulous  with  the  very  love  of  the  Christ:  “Other  sheep  I 

have  which  are  not  of  this  fold  ; them  also  I must  bring,  and  they 
shall  hear  my  voice.” 


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